Muhlenberg College 2000-01 Winter Sports Update

Muhlenberg College

2000-01 Winter Sports Update

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For the Week of February 12 to February 18
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News and notes about Muhlenberg athletics

BASKETBALL TEAMS IN POSTSEASON
Both Muhlenberg basketball teams qualified for the Centennial Conference playoffs and will open up on the road. The CC champion earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

The Muhlenberg men tied Ursinus for the East Division title, but the Bears earned the top seed because they swept the Mules. Muhlenberg will open up at defending champion Franklin & Marshall on Wednesday, Feb. 21.

EAST               CC  overall
Ursinus...........7-6   16-8
MUHLENBERG........7-6   13-11
Washington........6-7   13-11
Swarthmore........3-10   4-20
Haverford.........2-11   6-18
 
WEST               CC  overall
Frank. & Marsh...10-3   18-6
Gettysburg.......10-3   15-9
Dickinson.........9-4   14-10
Johns Hopkins.....8-5   15-9
Western Maryland..3-10   7-17

On the women’s side, Muhlenberg had its streak of five straight division titles snapped. The Mules open up the playoffs at Johns Hopkins, their opponent in the CC championship game each of the last five years.

EAST               CC  overall
Swarthmore.......12-3   20-4
MUHLENBERG.......10-5   14-10
Washington........7-8   12-12
Ursinus...........6-9   10-14
Haverford.........2-13   4-20
Bryn Mawr.........0-15   0-24
 
WEST               CC  overall
Johns Hopkins....11-3   16-8
Frank. & Marsh...11-3   17-6
Gettysburg........9-5   18-6
Western Maryland..9-5   17-7
Dickinson.........3-11   5-19

LESKO NAMED PLAYER OF WEEK
For the second time this season, junior forward Mark Lesko has been named Centennial Conference men’s basketball player of the week. (Like the other occasion, he shared the honor with a Gettysburg player, this time Greg Schreiber.) Lesko averaged 23.5 points and 12.0 rebounds in a pair of wins that vaulted the Mules into a tie for first place in the CC East Division. He had 19 points and 10 rebounds in only 24 minutes in an 85-56 victory at Haverford, then posted 28 points and 14 rebounds as Muhlenberg defeated Washington, 89-83. Lesko shot 61.3 percent from the field in the two games and extended his streak of scoring in double figures to 19 consecutive games (every game he has started this season).

Wednesday, February 14
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Muhlenberg 53, Swarthmore 46. Persistence paid off as Muhlenberg kept its Centennial Conference East Division title hopes alive by defeating Swarthmore for the 18th time in as many meetings at Memorial Hall. After falling behind 13-8 midway through the first half, the Mules closed to within one point on nine different occasions before finally taking a 45-44 lead on a layup by senior Jennifer O’Neill with 2:18 to play. That bucket was part of a 10-0 run in which Muhlenberg held the Garnet scoreless for a span of 3:30. O’Neill scored all of her team-high 11 points in the second half. Junior Lindsay St. Lawrence added 10 points, and senior Jessica Drennan had 8 points and 11 rebounds. Click here for box score.
MEN’S BASKETBALL Muhlenberg 94, Swarthmore 52. Five players scored in double figures as the Mules rolled to their fourth straight win, clinching a share of the Centennial Conference East Division championship. Muhlenberg held Swarthmore to 17-percent shooting in the first half and held a 43-16 lead at the break. Junior Mark Lesko scored 17 points — his 20th consecutive game in double figures — and junior Michael Barletta added 16, all in the first nine minutes of the second half. Sophomore Toomey Anderson did not score but had career highs of 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 blocks. Sophomore Raushan Person and freshmen Bob Peterson and Dan Norbut all scored their first career points. Click here for box score.

Friday, February 16
INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD at Kutztown’s Bears Den Invitational. Junior Will Elson posted the Mules’ seventh ECAC-qualifying mark of the season when he won the 1,000 meters with a time of 2:37.14. Elson had previously qualified in the 800. Senior Katrina Beck placed second with a high jump of 5-5, breaking the school record she had shared. Click here for Muhlenberg highlights.

Saturday, February 17
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Ursinus 58, Muhlenberg 45. The Mules could never got their offense going and dropped their regular-season finale. Senior Jessica Drennan was the only Muhlenberg player in double figures, with 12 points. Click here for box score.
MEN’S BASKETBALL Ursinus 81, Muhlenberg 79 (OT). In the battle for the top seed in the Centennial Conference playoffs, Ursinus scored the final five points of the game to pull out the victory. Muhlenberg fought back all game long from a 14-point first-half deficit, finally tying the score with 22 seconds remaining on a layup by junior Michael Barletta. The Mules scored the first three points of overtime, but were kept off the board for the final four minutes. Junior Mark Lesko led Muhlenberg with 25 points. Barletta finished with 14, and sophomore John Ström recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. The Mules committed only two turnovers the entire game. Click here for box score.
WRESTLING finished second at Centennial Conference Championships. Despite qualifying four wrestlers for the NCAA Championships, the Mules missed out on their second CC team title by four points to Western Maryland. The outcome was not decided until a Green Terror wrestler won the 197-pound title. Winning their weight classes and qualifying for the nationals were sophomore Nate Yeasted (133), senior Jason McLean (141) and juniors Bill Holsinger (149) and Tyler Cathey (heavyweight). Yeasted was named Most Outstanding Wrestler after pinning both of his opponents in the first period. Ironically, he entered the tournament with only two pins all season. Yeasted (30-12) and McLean (32-8) will be making their first trips to the nationals, while Holsinger (37-4) will be going for the second time and Cathey (19-0) for the third consecutive year. Click here for box score.

Questions or comments? Send mail to falk@muhlenberg.edu

Last updated February 17, 2001